The Echoes Of Days Past
by Seeker of the Soul
Summary: Five centuries before Pharaoh Atem was even born a struggle was waged between the servant of the Essence of Destruction and the people of the Earth. Thrust into the ancient past Daisuke Ihachi must unravel the everpresent mysteries or die. Sidearc to WWWI
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh. Only time I'll say it in this story. 

Author's Note: You'll learn real quickly what this story is about. You can even read this without having read What Was, What Is, and What Shall Be, but some things tie together and I'm sure anyone reading this would enjoying reading the other. Anyone who reads this but hasn't read the aformentioned story should know that this story starts off close to the end of said story. And now, here we go.

**The Echoes of Days Past**

_Prologue: A Memory Tomb_

There was laughter in the air, time to spend and a relaxed nature to spend it on. That and the water was fun to mess around in, splashing about and having a generally goofy time. It was in fact the first time that Drake had relaxed in...well since just after Kirani's duel with Taichi. Amazing that the duel had taken place not even twenty-four hours earlier.

Pulling back from the brief water fight he leaned back against a rock and put his hands behind his head, contemplating. Kai was about five feet away, floating lazily on his back, staring up at the sky. Either that or he was asleep, Drake couldn't see the other duelist's eyes so he couldn't be sure.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Drake blinked and dropped his eyes to the figure approaching him. Serenity swam her way over, which of course wasn't necessary in water that was about four feet deep, and then leaned up against the rock, right next to him. He gave her a brief smile, and then continued to stare up at the sky, lost in his own thoughts.

"I was thinking about today. Its amazing that all of these things, Shadi, Kirani, Hinata...Taichi. All of it has happened in under a day. I'm not even sure if its still the same day actually. But all of these things, the very fate of the world....its all being determined in a day's time. Doesn't that seem a bit odd to you?"

She shrugged and brushed a lock of brunette hair from in front of her eyes. He watched her stare into her reflection in the water, a troubled look on her face. Then just as quickly as the look had appeared, it vanished and she looked back up at him. "I guess so, but think about this. Which is odder, the fate of the world being determined in one day, or the fate of the world being determined by a card game?"

With this said he burst out laughing, he just couldn't help it. She joined in with his laughter, the water soaking up their worries as they lounged beneath the sun. It was true, he hadn't really thought about it before. "You're right Serenity, the fate of the world being determined by a card game is absolutely ridiculous. But then again, I always thought that Armageddon would come from a giant meteor or maybe nuclear war...not from a fifteen year old kid inhabited by some ancient evil demon-thingy that's millions of years old."

Serenity was the first of the two of them to laugh this time, and he joined her. To his surprise she splashed him with water, and soon the two of them were having a water fight again. As the water fight moved, Kai got caught up and joined into the fray, splashing water back and forth between the two of them. It was a three way war.

Of course he hadn't said the complete truth. His mind had been on what he had been sensing since he got to this realm, the reason he had been pushing onwards. Ihachi, the spirit that had taken control of his body when he had fallen in the duel against Taichi. She was here, her unique energy was pervading the entire place. It was like this section of the Shadow Realm was of her creation.

There were certain things that he was curious about, certain things he needed to understand. He had decided to take this time to relax because he couldn't get those answers stressing himself out. Rushing into a conflict with Ihachi in a place like this could be devastating for his health, and probably wouldn't accomplish anything. He had to learn a few things first.

He needed to know her weaknesses. Needed to know just how to defeat her, how to throw her off balance. He also wanted to know how much she might have been involved in his sister's coma. Had she accomplished such a thing just so she could put the Millennium Disc around his neck? And if so, then why?

Eventually they quieted down, tiring themselves out and finishing the water fight. It was time to simply relax yet again. The three now lay there, basking in the glow of the sun, soaking up its warmth through the cool water around them. Everything was perfect for that moment. There was absolutely nothing that could shatter the moment.

Drake blinked as a shadow fell across his face, blocking out the warmth of the sun. He picked himself up, dropping his feet to the sand at the bottom of the water and found himself looking up at two tall figures in simple brown robes. "Hey there. You here to get some water?"

The first of them grinned, pulling back his hood to reveal a handsome face, brown hair in a buzz cut, and brown eyes. The second one followed suit, revealing an identical face. Twins then. The first one spoke up. "Actually we came here because we are seeking duels. The ten straight victories and all that. We wish to make a challenge to one Kai Kaethen and Serenity Wheeler."

The two of them glanced at each other in surprise, and then turned back to the two twin duelists. This was hardly what they had been expecting. "Us? Why us?" The two duelists laughed at this and activated their disks.

"Because we already know every card in Daisuke Ihachi's deck, therefore he would be no challenge to us. You two are more of a mystery to us." Upon hearing himself declared as no challenge Drake stood to his full height and stepped out of the water, only in shorts. Kai followed suit, also only in shorts. Serenity stayed in the water, down beneath her shoulders, keeping herself out of their view.

"Listen up! I refuse to allow you to duel Serenity. She isn't ready for a duel of such a caliber. I'll take her place, and if you want a challenge I'll alter the cards in my deck to give you challenge. Two on two, me and Kai versus you two. Up at the top of the waterfall in fifteen minutes so we can get ready. Agreed?"

The twins nodded in acceptance and marched off, obviously heading towards the top of the waterfall. He and Kai started preparing themselves, drying off and getting dressed. Once they were ready in that way both of them prepared their decks, assembling in the way they had before. After ten minutes they were ready. "Me and you. Ready Kai?"

His partner nodded, activating his DD2, and started up towards the top of the waterfall. He thought this was just a normal duel, but Drake knew the truth. There was more to this than just getting ten straight victories. He would have to accomplish what he needed to, but he couldn't make it look bad. "Drake...you don't have to keep protecting me. I think I'm ready for a challenge like this."

Drake turned back to Serenity, who stood there, still dripping a bit because she hadn't fully dried. He shook away bad thoughts and grabbed his jacket, tossing it to her. She caught it with one hand and looked down at it questioningly. "I'm not protecting you because I think you're weak. I'm protecting you because I feel I should. This is a duel that needs to happen, and I need to do this."

"Then...what's the jacket for?" He grinned as she held it at arms length, obviously unsure of what to do with it. He pantomimed putting the jacket on, and she followed suit, sliding it over her arms. It fell into place, looking slightly like a dress on her since it was much to big.

"For keeping warm. I'm heading up, wanna come?" She gave him a bright smile and followed him up, joining Kai and the twins at the top of the waterfall. Shortly the duel would begin, but first some formalities needed to get out of the way. Like...their opponent's names.

"Mind introducing yourselves so you aren't just unnamed duelists that we have to crush?" The twins laughed, twin smiles etched on their features. Yes, they were definitely true duelists, not minding the pointless threats and comments. This was what duelists did, this was how it worked.

The first one pointed to himself with his thumb, and then next at his brother with his thumb, declaring their names as he did so. "I'm Uni and that lug is my twin brother Onn. And to do this double duel we'll rotate, starting with you, then me, then Kai, and finally Onn. Agreed?" Drake and Kai caught each other's eyes and then gave silent ascent, agreeing to the terms. The duel was on! (DLP: 8000, ULP: 8000, KLP: 8000, OLP: 8000)

The duel was a blaze of action, the four of them pulling off deadly combos, sending attacks shifting between duelists at a heightened pace. Most duelist wouldn't even be able to keep up, but these four were going toe to toe. Unfortunately after what was either luck or cheating the two Union Riders managed to get out their ultimate union monster, whose power achieved a heigh of sixty-two hundred using the effect of another card.

Drake and Kai dueled bravely against the power union creature, keeping themselves alive as they struggled to find a strategy to defeat the deadly beast. Eventually one of Drake's combos knocked Onn out of the duel, angering his brother who eagerly went after Drake to finish him off. Drake managed to even things up a bit with the power of Obelisk, but he quickly saw the chance for a fuller victory in one of the cards he had drawn.

It was called Hope of Desperation, and it would let him increase a player's life points by the attack or defense strength of one destroyed monster. He thought up a plan, and placed the card on the field, awaiting Uni's next attack. The duelist wouldn't keep him waiting, and he knew what would happen. He was counting on it.

GOD HAND CRUSHER!" The huge god creature punched with such force that a huge blue aura erupted around its fists, and that huge fist crashed into the much smaller union creature, who was hurled backwards into Uni, in a crushing blow that would reduce Uni's life point to zero, winning them the duel. (ULP: 794)

Uni struggled to his feet, and gestured to his two deck masters who had unioned together. Drake and Kai gasped as Aishi-Koitsu rose up through the smoke, unharmed. But how did Uni still have life points? "The final combined effect of my brother's deck master and mine is that if an attack on a completed union monster would win the duel....I could reduce my life points by half to save myself, but then we'd never be able to use our deck master's effects again."

Drake just shrugged, understanding exactly what was going to happen. Slowly he let his gaze settle out in the distance, where he knew she waited. With this next attack the duel could be won for either side, and he knew that to accomplish his goal he would have to do something he had never expected to do.

Uni raised one arm, palm thrust out and fingers spread wide apart, and declared his final attack of the duel. Now was the moment of victory, now the end would come! Now he would get vengeance for the loss of his brother! "Aishi-Koitsu, finish Kai off, I want to leave Drake for last!"

"Not so fast! I'll defend with Obelisk the Tormentor!" Uni and Kai both looked at him like he was crazy, but still the giant beast moved in the way of Aishi-Koitsu's attack, which ripped right through Obelisk's belly and out the other side. Finally Aishi-Koitsu swerved around and came to a rest in front of Uni, and Obelisk shattered into tiny pieces, with it would go the last of Drake's life points.

"I've got somewhere to be, so I'll leave this duel to you Kai. But first I'll help out with this last trap card. Hope of Desperation! This will increase a player's life points by the amount of points a destroyed monster had. And since Obelisk had four thousand, you gain the same amount. Until we meet again....later to both you and Serenity!" (KLP: 4100, DLP: 0)

He felt the darkness consume him, felt it lift him up and pull him away. He knew in that moment that his plan was a success. He didn't know what would happen in the duel, but he was certain that Kai would come out on top. He was a good duelist, so there shouldn't be a problem. For the moment, Drake would have to worry about himself.

His soul, lacking a corporeal body, was brought to the one place that it would be brought when the corporeal form was shared by a single person....sort of. He was pulled straight to Ihachi, and reaching out with his magic he placed a barrier between himself and her soul, to keep him from being absorbed into her completely. Instead he simply fell for what seemed an eternity.

When he regained awareness, he found that he was inside what had to be some kind of tomb. Egyptian hieroglyphs lined the walls, and the jars used to contain the bodily organs of whoever got mummified were off to one side. The room was huge, easy a few hundred square feet or more, but it seemed to expand to even greater heights. The ceiling above was held up by a golden arch.

The interesting piece of the room was what was at its epicenter. A pool of water, and at the center of that circular pool there was a giant sarcophagus. But who's tomb was this? What exactly was this place? "Well, I'm here for answers, so I might as well investigate."

He moved forwards until he came to stand at the edge of that pool. He crouched down, looking into the crystal clear liquid. Drake could have sworn he had seen movement in the waters, but now he was sure. Reaching out with one hand he gently stroked the surface of the water. To his surprise the water started glowing, a green light that shined up and past him.

In the waters time flowed backwards. That was the best way to describe it. Images of wars long past, going farther and farther backwards in time with each passing moment. The rise and fall of the Roman Empire, ever moving backwards. Then the images settled on a specific setting, a place of sand and sun and giant figures. It was Egypt.

The view settled on an image of a city, specifically the palace at the center of the city. The buildings were rough things of stone and little wood, but the palace was a structure of polished stone, marble, painted in fancy colors. Drake let out a little yelp as something took hold of him, tugging at him, and then he found himself falling forwards into the waters.

He never hit. Instead he was falling through the sky, falling towards that palace. He spread his arms out and felt his speed slowing, but not by his effort. His body held no weight in this strange place, wherever and whenever it might be. Drake's body passed through the ceiling of the palace and into a room. Lights rose up, and then everything changed.

Drake blinked his eyes and discovered a few things. One, he wasn't wearing his normal clothing. Two, he was in what must have passed for a hospital bed, though it was mostly made of stone with some mattresses to soften it. Lastly the arm that he saw at his side, his arm, was much more tanned than his own. The coppery color of an Egyptian..... "Oh crap." XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Author's Notes: Hahahaha, and so it begins. Drake has fallen into the Pool of Memory, and now he's about to get a history lesson. Next chapter you'll see things get kicked off.

Original Cards....none! Ha! There won't be any duels in this story (as far as you know) so I won't be listing any original cards. So there you go.


	2. Names of the Past

Author's Note: Here begins the first chapter of the Egyptian Arc of my story. Please note that many of the characters are simply past versions of themselves, but will not necessarily carry the same traits as their future versions. Watch carefully and it shouldn't be too hard to figure out which person is which. 

_Chapter One: Names of the Past_

Several seconds after he showed signs of movement, he heard a surprised sound coming from nearby. He turned his head and found himself gazing into shocked brown eyes, very familiar eyes. The girl staring at him with shock in her eyes was as bronze skinned as he was, and had brown hair just to her shoulders. Despite the hair and skin tone, she was identical to Serenity, maybe just a year or so older.

"You're awake! Oh praise the gods!" She was hugging him then, to his great surprise. He wasn't just surprised with the hug, he was surprised because the words he was hearing definitely weren't Japanese, but he was hearing it as such anyways. His brain was automatically translating a language he didn't know. It had to be magic.

"Umm....yeah I am. I'm not Pharaoh am I?" The strange look she gave him was enough of an answer and he sighed in relief. Well, at least there wasn't anything as awkward as Yami's situation for him. Then again, he didn't know how this whole thing worked. He watched as the Serenity look-alike called someone else into the room, and he got his second shock of the day.

The woman who entered the room was the Egyptian equivalent of Kirani, not even the littlest bit different even in hair style. Well, then again both were wearing simple white robes that hung loosely over their bodies. Kirani number two looked him up and down and the nodded in satisfaction. "Looks like he's doing much better. He should be able to return to his duties in under a week."

Questions were brimming on the surface for him. Were these real people in the past merely taking images from his mind and taking those forms, or had these people really looked this way? Whose memories were these, and whose position had he taken? What duties were they talking about? How had he ended up in this state in the first place? "Could you two fill me in on what I've missed?"

The two girls looked at each other, as if trying to decide what to say. Finally they came to some sort of conclusion and started speaking at the exact same time. They laughed at this, and the Kirani clone gestured to the Serenity clone. "Seri, you speak first." Drake mentally filed away the name Seri to apply to the Serenity clone from now on. Hopefully at some point she would refer to the Kirani clone by name before he said something stupid.

"The Hand of the Forbiddeon One has grown bolder in the month you've been in the recovery wing. He continuously requests more sacrifices, but so far we have refused him for the most part. However the Pharaoh appears to be waning in his belief that the Seven can take care of everything. In fact, The Seven have come to see the Pharaoh today." Drake absorbed this, automatically connecting the number seven to the group of seven that he could think of. The Millennium Items. He'd have to seek out The Seven, whoever they were.

"I heard that High Priest Kaeth was furious when he heard rumors about what your sister has been up to with some of the palace guards. After being refused by her I'm certain it had a significant effect on him. I bet he'll cause a scene during the meeting today." Drake raised an eyebrow at the word sister, and at the name Kaeth. He was far from stupid, and he knew a certain person whose last name happened to be really similar. Would Kaeth be a Kai clone?

Suddenly it occurred to him, and he realized what these memories revolved around. If things really were as obvious as they were seeming to be, then he knew whose past this was and why he had fallen into this position. It had to be himself in the past, and his sister in the past could only be one person. "Ihachi....I have to go see her."

The two girls shot each glances of confusion and then moved to stop him from getting up. The Kirani twin spoke up, placating him. "You've slurred your sisters name from Ihami to Ihachi, I don't think you're quite up to going to see her. She and the rest of The Seven will be done fairly soon, so she can visit you after. Just wait for the moment." Ihami....one of The Seven. Drake's eyes widened and he slapped his hand to his chest, searching for a certain object. He looked about for it and came to a horrid conclusion. If he didn't have the Disc....then she did.  
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Two groups of seven stood opposite each other. One wore fanciful robes in various different colors, six of them standing in front of a throne. Upon the throne was a man roughly in his fifties with a thick beard and graying hair. The circlet around his head and the throne he sat upon declared him as Pharaoh. The six in front of him were his High Priests.

The group of seven in front of them were The Seven, the servants of the gods who followed the gods words directly in this plane. Each one was dressed in simple white robes, speaking of the honor they held for their gods by displaying only one piece of jewelry. The jewelry they had were their Millennium Items, seven items forged in what appeared to be silver and gold yet were something else entirely. These items granted them great power.

In front of The Seven stood a bronze skinned man of over six feet in height, making him easily the tallest person in the room. His large and muscular body seemed slightly lessened in his loose robes, but there was still something dangerous about him. His long white blonde hair hung about half way down his back. "Great Pharaoh, we require soldiers to help us defend against an attack by those The Hand will send against us. You know why this is so, please do not be foolish."

"You dare accuse me of foolishness? Tread lightly Sumatin, for you have no official position in this government. You are not even recognized in the same religious sense that my High Priests are. As for those soldiers, I will not allow you soldiers to defend a small threatened village. It is of no strategic value, and its worthiness to the gods is determined by my priests, not by you." He had risen to his feet while speaking, a vain attempt to add more authority to his words by seeming taller than the blonde haired man.

Sumatin's cold eyes made the Pharaoh shudder on the inside. He could never stand to stare the man directly in the eyes for very long, there was just something unnatural in them. "We The Seven will defend the village with our Ka, however we require a legion of soldiers to stop the onslaught of these foreigners before they make it too far into our nation. The Gods speak to us that Kurulena Village will play a critical roll in the future, and therefore we must not allow it to be destroyed by these thieves."

The Pharaoh grimaced and turned his gaze upon the High Priests, seeking their counsel. None of the priests had gotten any indication from the gods that this minor village would play any roll in their nation's future, so they each shook their heads. "My priests do not agree with this statement, and since they represent the religious nature of our society, I will not send my soldiers needlessly to their deaths in such a defenseless village. We will use the soldiers to secure a vital position where we can defend against any attack. This city cannot be breached!"

Sumatin stared at the Pharaoh for several moments more, and then he nodded briefly. He turned around, sending his cloak flaring out behind him. He stopped briefly before exiting the room, and displayed his right hand to the Pharaoh. On it was a four-fingered silver ring with the image of a serpentine dragon biting its own tail. "By the Icon of Osiris I swear that with or without your help The Seven will turn aside these thieves and prevent The Hand from gaining further ground."

Suddenly a third voice spoke up, declaring an opinion that not a single other person in the room would dare to voice. "If you do not offer up soldiers freely to us when we have proved ourselves so many times before, then you are nothing but a fool! There is nothing divine about you if you make such a foolish choice." The Pharaoh's furious gaze fell upon the most vocal and most widely known of The Seven. It was Ihami, a beautiful woman with russet brown hair in a country where reddish hair was a sign of evil. Yet she served the gods.

More over, she was the twin sister to the Captain of the Royal Guard who held his own secret. As Captain of the Medjai, her brother served as the Pharaoh's personal bodyguard, and was feared by criminals more than even the Pharaoh himself. She was also known for her beauty, and for her habits with the palace guards. And of course the debacle with High Priest Kaeth. "Hold your tongue woman, or I shall have my guards remove it!"

Ihami offered only a sly smile, moving forwards so that she stood directly across from the Pharaoh. She set her hands on her hips in a cocky manner and stared at him in a cold and rather strange manner with those unusual violet eyes of hers. "The guards have had enough experience with my tongue that they wouldn't want to remove it. As for my words, I stand by them. They are true, yet I know you to not be a fool."

The Pharaoh ignored her comment about the guards, while the High Priests shifted awkwardly at the mention of habits of hers that were usually not mentioned in the open. Even The Seven rolled their eyes at her audacity. Sumatin only stared at her back with his unforgiving gaze. "You dare to spout your profane words in front of a God made flesh? You sicken me!" All eyes in the room turned to fall upon the speaker of these words.

The speaker was none other than High Priest Kaeth, a tall man whose wild hair and distinctive eyes of different colors were what made him known in the nation. That and the debacle with Ihami. Three years previous the High Priest Kaeth had requested Ihami's hand. Ihami had accepted, however later Kaeth discovered that Ihami did not keep to her vows. He was embarrassed by the situation, and his reputation was shattered.

Ihami turned her gaze upon Kaeth, and she sneered. Idly she fingered the golden disc that hung from her neck, the deadly Millennium Disc that allowed her the secret power of manipulation. She could feel emotions and as long as she was stronger than the other person she could make them do what she wanted by making them want to do it. "Well what do we have here, the weak little rejected priest. You dare speak to your masters in such a manner? Get back on your belly and crawl you worm."

Even the Pharaoh was surprised at the audacity of these words. Of course they all knew that emotions ran high between these two, but never before had Ihami been so harsh with him. The Pharaoh shook his head, understanding that shortly the situation would degenerate. Kaeth grimaced at her comment. "How dare you speak to me in such a fashion? You have no position in life but that of a gossip monger and as a veritable harem girl!"

Ihami just threw back her head and laughed, her crystalline laughter echoing in the vast room. Her gaze settled once again upon the High Priest, and she calmly licked her lips. "Yes, but I'm so good at it. The problem was never me, it was just that you were so bad at it." Kaeth's eyes widened in fury, and he stepped out in front of the other priests, sweeping his arm back making the others priests step backwards.

"You won't get away with your words! If you wish to prove yourself and your strength then you will deal with me here and now! If you Seven are as strong as you believe, then you can certainly manage to handle the Ka that I will summon. Rise up!" He focused his energy upon the long distant tablet, and watched as it rose in front of him, showing the image of its creature, a tall warrior with a blade.

"With this Ka I will show you my strength. This will prove once and for all that The Seven are no longer necessary in this nation or in the world!" The creature emerged from the tablet, a powerful warrior in purple armor. His blade was a giant curved thing, capable of severing even the strongest armor. He was a strong Ka who had a special ability that gave him the advantage against dragons. This was the Buster Blader, the Ka he used for most battles.

Ihami smiled and spread her arms out to the sides, calling upon her magic. The golden disc upon her chest started to glow, and the eye symbol appeared glowing upon her forehead. She was drawing upon the magic of the disc to summon her Ka and give it strength. "I don't even need the Ka I would use in battle against others to defeat your pathetic warrior. With the power the gods have granted The Seven even a mere apprentice in our hands becomes greater than your strongest Kas!" A tablet rose upon behind her, and shimmered as the Ka within exited.

The Ka she was using was a man with blonde hair and blue clothing, holding a staff in his hand. He was a Ka who used magic, yet he was normally a nothing. A weak Ka that one such as the Buster Blader could easily crush. This was the Apprenticeship Magician, a gnat of a Ka. It was a true insult for her to use this Ka against her. "Now, shall we begin?"

Kaeth raised one arm and thrust it towards Ihami, giving a command to his Ka. "Buster Blader, cut that pathetic monster into even chunks!" The blader rushed forward and swept downwards with its blade. To his great surprise the magician raised his staff and blocked the huge sword. It pushed forwards and stabbed the butt of the staff into the blader's stomach, sending it nearly stumbling back into the tablet.

"You see, the power of the items grants even the weakest creature greater power then you can offer. With the strongest of the seven items as my birthright I will crush you completely. Apprenticeship Magician will destroy the tablet and send your blader straight to the land of the dead!" With a quick twirl the magician brought the staff around and fired off a stream of white energy at the tablet. Kaeth motioned with his hands and the blader moved itself into the way, reflecting the blast off at an angle using its giant sword.

"I won't fall so easily as that. And I'll show you that despite the situation, that item is far from your birthright!" The mighty purple armored warrior rushed across the room and slashed horizontally at the magician. It jumped straight into the air, flipping as it went. The blader pulled its sword out of the cut and swung it back and over its head, intent on taking down the magic user. Apprenticeship Magician pulled its body into a spin and landed neatly off to the side, avoiding the swing.

"You've fallen right into my own trap, by allowing your blader to commit so heavily you let my magician close to the tablet. Now let's finish this!" She was right, and she truly had played him. The leap and the spin had carried the magician over the warrior's head. Now it stood about five feet away from the tablet, too far for the warrior to cover the distance before the magician could destroy the tablet. The apprentice's staff came up.

"Blader, stop him!" With one powerful swing the warrior sent his large blade spinning end over end straight at the magician. It saw the blade coming out of the corner of its eye and jumped backwards to get out of the way. It wasn't fast enough, and the blade caught its staff, knocking the weapon off to the side. The blade buried itself half-way into one of the stones of the floor a good distance away from the blader itself.

"Finish this while you have the chance!" Being a creature who used strength and speed as opposed to magic to win, the blader was capable of continuing the fight even without its sword. Now the magician was too far away to stop it, and it was about to win this battle. Turning towards the magician's tablet, it rushed forward and slammed its fists into the tablet with stone crushing force.

As soon as the tablet shattered so did the Apprenticeship Magician, and the High Priests looked on, gloating that one of their own had defeated one of the fabled Seven who were renowned for their great power. Yet despite their victory, the Seven seemed unperturbed, and so did Ihami. "Now do you see? You and the rest of your kind are no longer necessary! Leave this place for good!"

Ihami smiled and turned her eyes towards the crumbling remnants of her stone tablet. Suddenly a glow surrounded it, and it reformed together. Apprenticeship Magician emerged from it, showing off by swing its staff over its head until it was ready. Kaeth stared in shock at the monster that stood directly in front of his blader. "But how?"

"Fool, just like your monster has a unique ability, so does mine. Whenever the apprentice falls in battle I can automatically call for one of his brethren magicians. Of course its just another apprentice, but its easily enough to defeat you. You see? There are more methods of power then just one!" The magician placed its staff in the center of the blader's armored body and fired off a beam of magic, sending the warrior flying through the air to land at Kaeth's feet.

The warrior's stomach armor was broken, revealing the flesh underneath. The attack at such range had truly been damaging, and now the warrior without his weapon was forced to battle yet another magician. "Get back up! I still need you for now. Win this battle for me, destroy her magician!" Buster Blader slowly pushed himself back onto his feet, one arm around his stomach as he groaned in pain. Finally it straightened up and prepared its fists.

"That's perfect! Now take the battle to her!" The warrior bellowed out his response and ran towards the magician. As soon as he was in range the mighty fighter swung his gauntlet covered fist at the smaller monster. The apprentice dodged the punch, but missed the knee that rose up and plunged into its stomach. The magic user stumbled backwards and the blader grabbed it by the hair, pulling it back in for a crushing blow to the face.

"Do you think it's that simple? Apprenticeship Magician, strike back!" A blue glow surrounded the magician, and then like a bubble it popped. The force of that pop knocked the blader off of it and to the ground. The apprentice acted instantly, leaping straight at the warrior and landing on his chest in a crouch. The magician's staff was now aimed directly at the warrior's throat, and all it would take would be a single attack for Ihami to have won the battle.

"It won't end here! Don't stop fighting even for a second my blader!" The warrior let out a roar and pulled its feet up, knocking the magician off balance. With that moment's distraction the warrior gripped the staff with one hand and then swung, sending the magician hurling to the side and onto the ground where he slid to a stop. The blader rose back to his feet and charged the magician, giving him a swift kick in the stomach.

The apprentice moved into a rolling maneuver, using its staff to push it away from the blader and propel it to its feet. It brought the magic device around and fired off a streak of magic, which the warrior promptly dodged, allowing the beam to careen into a pillar and blast a chunk out of it. Some of the High Priests grimaced at the damage, but the Pharaoh merely watched the battle continue, intrigued as to what the outcome would be. After all, Kaeth was his strongest High Priest, and Ihami was one of The Seven.

The armored warrior continue on its path towards the magic user, intent on bringing about its end. Apprenticeship Magician continued firing off bolts of magic at the blader, forcing the warrior to continuously dodge. Because it had to dodge to stay alive it was unable to make much headway, protecting the apprentice for the time being. Despite the weakening position of her Ka, Ihami seemed unconcerned and rather bored by the whole proceedings.

Kaeth grimaced as he watched the pinned down Ka spray magical energy at his Ka, keeping it at a distance. He had to figure out a way out of this annoying situation and a way to finish of Ihami and her Ka for good. If he destroyed this one he'd just have to deal with another, and so on and so forth until the blader was destroyed. His only chance was to get close to Ihami and have the blader attack her. "Buster Blader, dive to the right!"

Ihami watched in amusement as the purple armored warrior dove to the right, avoiding yet another blast from her magician. She casually motioned for it to track and continue the attack, smirking as her Ka sent stream after stream of energy following the now all out running Ka. Suddenly it dove again and went into a roll, coming up with its arms in front of it. "Send the attack right back at it!"

The russet-haired woman stared in shock as she realized Kaeth's goal in sending the Buster Blader fleeing from her magician. The warrior now held his mighty sword, and he was swinging it straight at the oncoming blast. The blade connected and for a moment the two attacks were frozen in mid-air, and then it changed.

The beam of energy reversed directions, and went hurling straight back at the Apprenticeship Magician. "Apprenticeship Magician, defend!" Suddenly the apprentice blurred, and the beam shot straight into it, shattering it into tiny pieces. Kaeth grinned as he saw victory in sight, about to command his blader to head directly for Ihami. He turned his gaze on her and pointed with his left hand. Yet the moment he opened his mouth, something happened.

"Apprenticeship Magician, counterstrike!" Kaeth's gaze swung around and he saw the Apprenticeship Magician standing just about a dozen feet to the left of his warrior. Its staff was held up at shoulder height and was aimed directly at the blader. A beam of light erupted from the tip of the staff and shot at his Ka, exploding upon the warrior's armor.

Kaeth felt it as a pain, and he fell to one knee as the energy coursed over his warrior's armor, breaking it apart in several places and flowing inwards to scorch the flesh. The High Priest struggled to refocus himself, drawing in deep breaths to keep in this battle. If he allowed himself to falter in this moment then Ihami would have beaten him, and he couldn't allow that. "It's not over yet Ihami, I refuse to let it be."

He rose to his feet, a little unsteadily but he did it anyways. The Ka warrior followed suit and used its blade to help it rise. The apprentice merely watched the warrior struggle with a cruel look in its eyes. It enjoyed knowing that it, a normally weaker creature, had so far bested the normally more powerful Buster Blader. It was a true triumph of sorts. "Of course you wouldn't let it be, but it's just stubbornness and lack of vision. It's the same reason why you priests can never see the words of the gods even when they are right in front of your eyes."

"Buster Blader, avoid the Apprentice and go straight for your true objective!" The armored warrior nodded to Kaeth, and then raised himself to his full height. Raising his sword above his head the warrior let out a roaring battle cry. The magician's eyes widened, showing a little bit of fear. Ihami sneered, unconcerned by the theatrics. The blader raised its arms and then swung down with the sword.

Ihami's sneer was suddenly shattered as the blade smashed the ground apart, sending a traveling fissure across the room. Instead of heading for the tablet or even the Apprenticeship Magician, the fissure was heading straight towards her. A slight smile crossed her features and she shook her head. "Quite clever of you Kaeth, I'm surprised. Not that it will matter."

The fissure ran straight towards her, and to Kaeth's surprise it had absolutely no effect whatsoever. Before the fissure could drop her she simply called upon her magic to form a bridge of energies over the fissure, keeping her from even being knocked off balance. She smirked at him quietly, and then made a slashing motion with her hand. It was in that moment that Kaeth remembered the Ka he had passed up to make that attack.

The sphere of magic crashed directly into the helmeted head of the High Priest's Ka, sending it careening into the ground onto the other side of its head. It lay there limply for nearly a minute, smoke rising from the side of its helmet that had been attacked. Kaeth felt as if a hammer had been struck against his ears. His head throbbed and red filled his vision, compliments of pain, anger, and the blood dripping from his ears.

"It would be best for you to surrender yourself now and spare yourself from further embarrassment. That is, unless you enjoy the embarrassment. Or perhaps the so-called 'Mighty' Buster Blader has already been defeated. Take a look at him, he can't move! Neither of you weak fools can move at all!" Ihami's words rang true, for the Buster Blader was stilling lying prostrate on the ground, and Kaeth was on his knees, unmoving.

Kaeth's breathing was shallow, coming in ragged sharp bursts. His vision was swimming, and nothing at all was clear. He struggled to force himself to look over at his Ka, and found that what Ihami had been saying was true. There was no motion from the Ka, but he could still feel a trickle of strength from it. Perhaps he could still surprise Ihami.

Focusing his mind on his magic and away from his pain, he started to force what he had left into his Ka, granting it an extra boost in strength for one last attack. Gasping in pain as he sat up, he pointed one finger at Ihami and declared his intentions. "I will never surrender to the likes of you so long as my body can hold air! Let the last beating of this heart be used in any way it must to defend this kingdom, even if it is from outdated nothings such as yourself!"

Ihami merely threw back her head and laughed to the ceiling, completely unaffected by Kaeth's words. When she had finished her laughing she dropped her gaze to the fallen High Priest and sneered down at him. "Outdated nothing? If I am my brethren are outdated, then what does it say of the High Priests when they cannot defeat what is outdated? You are the nothing here. Your branch of pseudo-religious fools are the ones who cloud the judgement of this great kingdom!"

The High Priests stirred at these words, glaring at the attractive woman as she stood there, haughtily expressing her distaste and disrespect for the priests and their activities. Their gazes also traveled to the rest of The Seven, who stood impassively watching the confrontation. Unable to understand why she was not being reprimanded, the Pharaoh spoke up. "Sumatin! She is your charge, so command her to revoke her words!"

The tall and powerfully built servant of god turned his icy gaze upon the Pharaoh. The old Pharaoh had to force himself not to step backwards under the force of that gaze. A force so strong that he felt like prostrating himself and begging for forgiveness. That could not be the case, he did not beg nor did he ask for forgiveness! He was the Pharaoh, a god incarnate! He was the ruler of this land and would not back away from one mortal man!

"Understand this. Though your subjects may bow and scrape, prostrating themselves beneath your might, that is not what The Seven shall ever do. We prostrate ourselves only before the strength of the gods, and no Pharaoh in the history of this land has ever, nor will ever give commands to us. I serve the mighty Osiris, and I am the leader of this group. However, I do not command them, I merely a first amongst equals." A light silver glow was coming from the Icon of Osiris as he spoke, and the Pharaoh could feel the restrained magic within. More magic then he could possibly summon.

"Yet as first amongst equals your words carry weight! Inform her that to speak such words in my presence is to risk having herself arrested and thrown into the darkest dungeons of Our Kingdom!" His words now held no hint of anger, but an obvious sign of it. His fists were clenched together and shaking. Unconsciously he was drawing his magic about himself in preparation to either defend from an attack, or to attack. Sumatin stared at him levelly and shook his head in what seemed like annoyance.

"I see that you refuse to understand. The words that Ihami speaks are her own, and therefore I will not reproach her for them. To do so would be to display an arrogance and an egotism that I do not possess. No force short of the gods will halt Ihami's words if she wishes to speak them, and no prison of mortal man can hold any of The Seven. Head my words for once Pharaoh, and understand that if we with our great strength require assistance to defeat a threat, then it is a true threat!" He spoke the words with a sharp finality, and all eyes were on him as he finished speaking.

The Pharaoh shook his head, irritated that he had no power of these people. His father had told him before he had died, that to try and bring The Seven to task was like trying to bring one of the Pyramids to task. It simply could not be done, not by any man who had ever walked the earth or would ever walk the earth. "Very well, this farce may continue."

Kaeth needed no further urging then these words. He pushes himself to his feet and gave what he believed to be the final command of this battle. It just had to work, otherwise it was all over for him. "Buster Blader, ATTACK!" The mighty purple armored warrior suddenly burst onto his feet and jumped into action, swinging his blade through his huge leap.

The blade came straight down on the Apprenticeship Magician's tablet, cleaving it in two. The tablet crumbled away, and the Apprenticeship Magician faded into dust. Ihami just laughed at him. "Have you already forgotten the power of Apprenticeship Magician? Now I raise another Ka!" The fragments of the tablet stopped their fall and then spiraled back together, forming into a brand new tablet.

Despite what Ihami had thought, Kaeth had been perfectly prepared for this. Buster Blader still had energy, and this time he was ready for the emergence. With the Ka in the perfect position, he had the advantage in this battle. "Buster Blader, shatter the tablet before the Ka can emerge from it!" The warrior roared and swung his sword horizontally, slashing into the stone.

"Now you've fallen into my trap yet again!" A streamer of energy exploded from the stone just as the warrior's sword struck it. The beam shot straight over Buster Blader's shoulder and straight at Kaeth. He gasped in horror as the energy collided with Buster Blader's tablet, and shattered it into oblivion. The mighty warrior let out one final gasp, and then he was gone for good.

"But how?" Ihami smirked as her tablet reformed itself, and a Ka emerged. This one was somewhat similar to the Apprenticeship Magician, but instead of being a young blonde magician, it was a gnarled old man in full magician's robes. He held his curled staff and sneered at Kaeth, before vanishing back into his tablet.

"Instead of raising another Apprenticeship Magician I raised a Vindictive Magician, and when his tablet is attacked this old fellow can destroy another tablet. Pitiful fool, you underestimated me, and that was the only mistake you needed to make to lose." Kaeth closed his eyes and turned away, barely able to contain the shame of his defeat. Ihami had bested him and proved her point. Yet in a way victory was still his, though he didn't realize it quite yet.

The Pharaoh made a chopping motion with one hand, a motion that declared the end of such activities. "I've had enough of such childish displays. Ihami, you may have proved victorious in this case, but I stand by my previous words. You seven will receive no soldiers from me. Now begone from my sight!" The Seven just stared at him for a few moments, and then they all turned to go, heading towards the door.

"Is it too late? Did I miss it?" The Seven stopped at these words, turning to find a barely dressed bronze skinned man who was definitely Ihami's twin enter the room. Ihami's eyes lit up in surprise and sudden joy at seeing her twin, and she rushed to embrace him. He returned the hug, surprised to see such a good sibling relationship. He pondered to himself, wondering why Ihami greeted him as such, when she was such a dark person in the future.

"Drago! You're awake at last! Oh praise the gods!" He smiled and pulled a way a little, giving her his patented grin. Not just because of her happiness, but because he now knew the name of who he was in this memory. He was Drago, twin brother to Ihami, one of The Seven. And thanks to Seri and Kiri, the Serenity and Kirani clones, he now knew his position as well.

The aforementioned two skidded to a halt at the entrance to the room. Upon seeing the Pharaoh they dropped to their knees, avoiding eye contact. Drake, or rather Drago, chuckled lightly, embarrassed that they had rushed in after him. They were still trying to keep him from wandering about in his weakened state. And he did feel a little weak, but not by much.

Seeing a near duplicate of Kai in fancy robes kneeling on the ground with blood on his face was enough to tell Drake that there had been a quarrel, and that this one was definitely High Priest Kaeth. "Sister....what happened to High Priest Kaeth?" At the sound of the name Kaeth winced as if he had been struck, and some of the others glanced at him in confusion. He didn't understand any of that, but he kept it in mind.

Suddenly he found himself standing face to face with a bronze skinned man slightly shorter then himself with a shaved head. Despite the shaved head, the golden gauntlet on his right hand and his appearance gave him away. This man was almost identical to Ryu! "There was an altercation. But everything is fine now. Come, we must celebrate your awakening!"

There was a chorus of agreement from ever person in the room but one. All greeted him eagerly and happily, with a shake of the hand, a nod of the hand, or even a hug in a few cases. Obviously these people knew him well. He even gave a bow to the Pharaoh, he merely inclined his head in return. The one person who hadn't agreed was easy to recognize from his large size and his hair. A Dalin clone.

Sumatin turned away and strode out the door, calling out behind him as he walked away. "There is little time for happiness in the current situation. Spend a little time with Drago, and then we depart. The Pharaoh has ignored our pleas, therefore we must make extra haste to reenforce the defenses of Kurulena village." With these last words he was gone, and now Drago was left with all these past versions of people he knew and with others.

Drake's eyes stayed on the door as he contemplated this past Dalin's words. He had no idea what was going on, but he had a feeling he would soon find out. In fact, he had a feeling that these memories would not remain anything pleasant for all that long.

Ihami leaned close and whispered something in his ear that made little sense to Drake. "Worry not brother, because Sumatin and the rest of us will be safe even in our upcoming battle. I have sworn to get the power needed to combat this threat, no matter the cost." He glanced at her curiously, but only saw a twinkle of mischief in her eyes. Something was out of place, and he had a bad feeling that it would just make things worse. Nothing good ever came of mischief in a woman's eyes.  
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Author's Note: And that concludes the first chapter of this Egyptian Arc story. Have a nice day.


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